Help Keep Small Farms Alive!!
It was recently brought to my attention that there are a few bills going through congress right now that could affect the way local farmers make their living. HR 875 and HR 759 are being addressed as “food safety” bills that, intentionally or not, are targeted at industrial-sized farms, but do not exclude just growing vegetables in your backyard. I would like to spread the word about how these bills, if passed, will affect local communities, so you, in turn, can also help spread the word and we can all contact our senators and stop these bills from passing! Here is the jist of things:
HR 875 is the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. It was introduced by Representative Rosa DeLauro (whose husband has Monsanto, a global seed and GMO production company, as a client. Hmm…). All of the bill is directed at “food production facilities”. What does that mean? Well the bill specifically states that the term “food production facility” means “any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation.” No exclusions or exemptions are implied. So small, local farms would fall into the same category as industrial production facilities and will be expected to meet the same standards as stated in the bill. The Administrator of Food Safety will have duties of which will include enforcing performance standards for food safety, establishing an inspection program, and establishing a national traceability system for food. Sounds safe, yes, but not when I am buying my produce from the farm it came from. I feel pretty safe with that as it is, without the “tracing” of the food and having it live up to “performance standards”.
The bill also allows the goverment to interfere and dictate the standards related to fertilization, nutrients, packaging, and temperature controls, among other things. It also authorizes fines equaling one million dollars for “each act” and “each day” of a violation. Massive amounts of paperwork, fees, and tracking records will be required. This seems all fine and good for large facilities, but near impossible for the small farmers!
HR 759 proves to be even worse. It is called The Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2009. This bill was introduced by Representative John Dingle and it requires the Secretary of Health and Human services to issue “science-based” performance standards to minimize hazards and improve food safety, and also establish “science-based” minimum standards for the safe production and harvesting of fruits and veggies. What the hell does “science-based” standards include? The bill does not say…. it is completely undefined.
All standards of this bill are the same whether it is an industrial farm with hundreds of thousands of animals, or you have a handful of animals on your property. These standards include providing an extensive food safety plan, elctronically tracking all food products, and having an ID system for every animal on your farm. Excuse me, sorry, for the industrial sized farms, they need one ID number for every 800,000 animals….for the small farmer, it is every animal, and the cost of doing so, of course. They will also be required to register with the FDA and pay annual fees for running their farm.
Again, this all sounds like a decent “food safety” program they are trying to instill, but only if you are just counting large food production facilities where animals are confined to a small space, are subject to disease and viruses because of a lowered immune system, and fed all the wrong things. This is where the problems are happening. But if these bills are passed, small farms will be affected in the same way, and could quite possibly be the end of them.
Buying locally is a great way to ensure that the food you are eating IS safe. These farmers’ livelihood depends on their reputation and word of mouth, they cannot risk doing anything that could compromise their products. Support your local farmers and contact your state’s representatives right now and stop this bill from being passed!!
This is horrible!! How can I help?
You can contact your local state representatives and tell them to not let this happen! Here is a link to a site where you can find out exactly what senator represents the district you live in. Send them a letter, give them a call, let your voice be heard!!
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd
Thanks for your contribution to Take Charge of Your Health Care Carnival. We need to do more to encourage the small farmer.
Thanks for submitting this post to our blog carnival. We just published the 16th edition of Drugs and Pharmacology and your article was featured!
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Shaheen
The problem with these bills is just that it applies to all farms.
If it only affected large farms then no one would complain about it. Although there are major problems with both bills they would be viewed as good bills if they targeted industrial farms. With minor changes they could both be so much better.